Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu, fundamentally changed her relationship with Nigeria, revealing that she no longer wants to return to the country as a coroner’s inquest examines the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
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Adichie made the disclosure in an interview with The New York Times, where she spoke about the loss of her son and the impact the tragedy has had on a country she had long regarded as central to her identity and literary career.
Asked whether Nigeria still felt close to her heart, she replied: “My feelings toward Nigeria have changed.”
“I do not want to go back to Nigeria,” she added.
Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twin sons, died in December 2025 following a medical emergency at Euracare in Nigeria.
According to Adichie, the child initially developed a fever and was placed on antibiotics by her husband, Dr Ivara Esege. When his condition failed to improve, the family took him to the hospital for further examination.
She said Nkanu was subsequently sedated with propofol for an MRI procedure, after which he suffered cardiac arrest and died the following day.
Recalling the moments after the procedure, Adichie said a doctor approached her in a panicked state and referred to the quantity of propofol administered.
“He was very calm and he said to me, ‘Well, look, they gave him too much Propofol.’ Those were his exact words, which I will never forget until the day I die,” she said.
Adichie had earlier publicly raised allegations of medical negligence concerning the treatment her son received. Those allegations remain subject to the ongoing coroner’s inquest and have not been judicially determined.
The proceedings are reportedly examining the circumstances of Nkanu’s death amid disagreements between the family and the hospital.
Euracare has also reportedly raised concerns over the cremation of the child’s remains, alleging that this affected the preservation of evidence relevant to the inquiry. That contention also forms part of the dispute surrounding the inquest.
Adichie and her husband have called for improvements in Nigeria’s healthcare system, although the report said they have not instituted a civil lawsuit against the hospital.
Despite saying she presently does not want to return to Nigeria, Adichie indicated that her children could ultimately influence that decision, noting that her daughter still regards the country as her “happy place.”
Before her son’s death, the author said Nigeria remained deeply intertwined with her sense of self and her work, describing it as the country from which she received much of what shaped her identity as a writer.
The loss, she said, has altered that connection.
“I mean, it is so surreal, all of this. I still can’t believe we’re talking about my son who died,” Adichie said.
“You’re going through something, but you also feel like you’re outside of it.”
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